Dr Andrew Hines, of the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics, is leading two exciting new collaborative projects between Insight and Xperi Inc. (NYSE: XPER).

Based on a strategic partnership originally formed between Insight SFI Research Centre and Xperi in 2020, the research will explore why there seems to be a decrease in streaming content quality that has resulted in a large increase of viewers utilising closed captioning or subtitles. Additional research will be conducted with the aim of devising a set of perceptual descriptors and aspects of synthesized speech quality.

Dr Walsh’s project will seek to examine the consumer’s Quality of Experience (QoE) of streamed content, regarding both TV and movies, with a particular focus on audio and dialogue perception and ease of comprehension. The research aims to establish potential solutions for any factors identified as significantly reducing the consumers quality of experience of the content they stream. The project is estimated to conclude in 2023 at which time final discoveries and solutions will be presented.

Insight, led by UCD-based Dr Andrew Hines, will use machine learning to create technology that can understand, measure and quantify how people perceive audio and speech quality. This new collaboration will support a one year postdoctoral research fellowship as well as a four-year PhD programme. Dr Hines said, “We are excited to be working together with Xperi Inc. on two projects that will change how we experience audio ranging from streaming movies to understanding computer generated synthetic speech."

“Xperi’s vision is to create extraordinary experiences for consumers, whether at home, on mobile or in the car,” said Dr Petronel Bigioi, chief technology officer at Xperi. “In order to create and deliver these extraordinary experiences, we must first understand what the problems are that a consumer is facing so that we may address their core needs. Our participation and dedication to these studies with Insight  showcases our commitment to understanding what consumers consider a quality experience and delivering solutions that will meet those needs.”

Insight CEO, Prof Noel O’Connor, said “These new collaborative projects build on the strong association between Insight and Xperi Inc. which dates back to our strategic partnership formed in 2020. In this latest collaboration, we are delighted to have the opportunity to further deepen this fruitful relationship.”

The research associated with these projects will be led by Dr Andrew Hines (UCD), Dr Zoran Fejzo (Xperi-DTS) and Dr Martin Walsh (Xperi - DTS).